Youth Engagement in Political Process

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Hon. James S. Cowan (Leader of the Opposition):

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate and it’s one of a series of questions we’ve received in response to our invitation to Canadians to ask questions on their behalf.

Today, my question was received from the students who are currently sitting here, as we know, in the Senate Gallery. These students participated in this morning’s Open Caucus on Youth Engagement in the Political Process. As you know, since March of last year, we have opened our doors to Canadians to learn, discuss and debate issues. We have members of the press, members of Parliament and the public attend these events, and today we were fortunate to have students, not only from here in Ottawa, from Carleton and Ottawa, but all the way from Kingston, in the lead up to exams, Mr. Leader, to participate in this morning’s discussion. Their question is as follows:

This morning, the Senate Liberals opened their doors to hold an Open Caucus on youth disengagement in politics. We had a very interesting, healthy, and fulsome discussion on how to address this issue, but we cannot stop here. How does this government propose to address this issue in a tangible way? As an issue of national importance that impacts on all Canadians, what measures have been taken by this government to actively engage young people in the political process?